Tuesday, July 13, 2010

ILIGAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2010) – A government soldier was killed and 5 others were wounded in a firefight Tuesday in the troubled province of Lanao del Sur in the Muslim autonomous region in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said one civilian was also killed in the fighting that lasted more than 15 minutes in the village of Gata in the town of Poona Bayabao.

“Bandits attacked the soldiers who were traveling on a truck owned by Rodjunox Construction Supply and this sparked a 15-minute fire fight. One soldier was killed and five others were wounded in the fighting. A civilian was also killed in the fighting between the two groups,” said Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police chief.

It was unknown why the soldiers were on the truck or whether they were escorting it or not, but police blamed bandits, led by Dimaporo Masacal, alias Commander Delta, for the attack.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but Latag said the bandits will attack government forces at every opportunity. “These bandits will attack at any opportunity,” he said, adding, he ordered police forces to help troops tracked down Masacal’s group, blamed for banditry and highway robberies in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)